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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4768, 4 July 1876, Page 2

The suitableness of the Bay of Islands as a port of call for the Pacific Mail Company’s steamers, in preference to Kandavau, is still being discussed in Sydney, and very much to the advantage of the New Zealand port. The Herald, which has strong predilections in favor of Kandavau, is forced to admit that the published statements of captains of the mail steamers point conclusively to this fact, that although it would not be correct to say that Kandavau is a bad harbor, it cannot be gainsaid that the entrance to Kandavau is not without danger after nightfall, that it is a very unsuitable poi-t for vessels of the size required in the Pacific mail service, and that the systematic delay which the custom of taking large steamers into the reef-bound harbor of Kandavau necessitates, more than counterbalances anyad vantage there may bein calling there at all. After asserting that the forked service is a huge mistake, and saying particularly hard things about the Now Zealand costal service being performed by the large boats, the Herald goes on—“ It has been urged that the Bay of Islands is out of the way, and that a-service touching at this port would involve the abandonment of a natural route for an unnatural one. The difference in distance between a service via Bay of Islands and via Kandavau is just 209 miles, or considerably less than a day’s run. But distance in a mail service must be calculated by time as well as by space, and when the delays which have been the rule at Kandavau are taken into the account, it may be found that the time of performing a voyage by way of a northern port of New Zealand will be shorter than the time necessary to perform the voyage by way of Fiji. By doing the coastal service of New Zealand with ships of convenient size, and by taking the large steamers to the Bay of Islands, instead of to Kandavau, the present risks of the New Zealand service would cease to exist. Bach colony would always have the main boat, and the inconvenience of transferring cargo and passengers might be avoided, the coaling difficulty would be simplified, and although the distance might be slightly increased, time might be saved, and regularity iu the delivery of mails might be more certainly calculated on.”